Who Could Ever Love a Beast?
by Lydia Lupin
Summary: During his sixth year, Remus Lupin must deal with his trouble-loving friends, a nasty Slytherin, his relationship with a Hufflepuff girl, and his lycanthropy. RLOFC Please R&R.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: All characters and situations associated with Harry Potter are property of The Great JK Rowling. Eh, I guess WB has some claim to them, too. I am not making any money off of this.   
  
Author's Note: Thanks go out to my lovely beta-readers who have given me lots of help and encouragement while writing this. They are: my sisters, Andrea and Arlene, my cousins, Kendall and Alyssa, and my good friends for , Rachel and Ashley. Please review when you are finished reading this and let me know of any corrections I could make or of any suggestions you have on how I can improve this. Thanks, and enjoy!  
  
Who Could Ever Love a Beast?

Chapter 1

His breath was coming in quick, sharp gasps as he ran away from the mob of angry townspeople at a breakneck pace. Some of the people were carrying torches. Others were hurling hexes at him. All of them were yelling furiously.

"You'd better run, werewolf!"

"Catch that monster! He killed my daughter!"

A wall taller and longer than realistically possible blocked his path. He backed up against the wall's rough surface, his face contorted with fear.

"No!" he cried desperately, "I'm not a monster! I didn't kill anyone!"

"It lies! Kill the beast!" And soon it became a mantra among the crowd.

"Kill the beast! Cut its throat! Spill its blood!"

All of a sudden, a figure cast a shadow over the crowd and the townspeople stopped chanting. His face blanched at what he saw. A man built like an ox stood before him. He was shrouded all in black from head to heavily booted foot, and in his shovel-like hands, he held a silver-headed axe.

"Do you know who I am, Remus Lupin?" the man asked softly. Remus jerkily shook his head side to side. "I am the executioner for the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. And you, Remus Lupin, are a dangerous creature." Remus weakly shook his head in protest. The executioner laughed sadistically at the young man's fear. "Did you really think that you, a vicious beast, could live among humans?"

"I am human," Remus whispered, "I am . . . My friends . . . ."

"Lied," the executioner finished his sentence, "Those you believe to be your friends told me all about you, Remus." The executioner grinned as Remus's golden-brown eyes grew with surprise. "Don't believe me? Well, take a look and see for yourself." He gestured toward the crowd. Soon the nameless, angry faces took on the features of his three best friends: James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

"No!" Remus croaked, "It's not true! James, you would never . . . ." But when he reached out for his friend, James jerked his arm away from him, an expression of deep disgust on his face.

"Ugh, don't come near me, werewolf!"

"What?" Remus was at an utter loss for words, "But . . . but James. Sirius!" However, Sirius merely turned a haughty nose up at him. Remus then turned toward Peter. "Peter . . . Peter, my friend, you wouldn't . . . ."

"Don't you contaminate my robes, freak!" Peter said scathingly. Remus leaned against the wall for support, breathing heavily, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"No, this is wrong. This isn't happening."

"Oh, but it is," the executioner said with cruel pleasure, "And that isn't all. Bring her in, boys!"

From out of nowhere, several small demonic beings carried with them the lifeless body of a young woman. Her long wavy brown hair was dragging on the ground, and her blue-grey eyes stared emptily ahead. There were deep, bloody gashes running across her pretty face. Remus's stomach clenched painfully when he saw that her throat had been messily torn open. The blood that spilled from the gaping hole under her chin spattered on the ground and mixed with the dirt, forming black mud. Remus felt the bile rise in his throat and struggled to fight it down. "Not Lydia," he croaked, "Please, please not Lydia . . . ."

"Oh, yes," the executioner chuckled as though somebody had just told a very good joke, "Yes, it's your beloved Lydia. Would you like to know who ruthlessly tore her throat out, who sank their bloodthirsty teeth into her flesh, who raked their claws over her body? Would you like to know who is responsible for murdering the only girl you have ever loved?" Remus violently shook his head back and forth, tears streaming down his face.

"You did," the executioner whispered, obviously receiving satisfaction from Remus's torment.

"No, no, no, no," Remus muttered frantically, sinking slowly to the ground, "I couldn't have . . . not Lydia . . . ." Soon he was surrounded by the insane laughter of the executioner and his friends.

"Look at him!" Sirius said with a smirk, "He actually thought that we cared for him. Face it, werewolf, nobody could ever love you!"

"Yeah, or they'd end up dead!" James laughed nastily.

"Like Lydia!" Peter chuckled.

"No!" Remus screamed. All of a sudden, the warm, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and dripped down his chin. With a gasp of horror, he looked down and saw the red, sticky substance smeared all over his robes and hands. As the executioner cackled, the silver blade of his axe caught the equally silver light of the full moon. Remus looked up at the sky with a moan and, with painful jabs nearly impossible to bear, his body contorted into that of a wolf. With a whine, he looked back at the crowd, all of them now in shades of gray. He could no longer understand their garbled and angry voices. With an unnatural flash, the executioner swung his axe up and brought it swishing down . . . .

Remus Lupin woke up in his bed, gasping for air and covered in cold sweat. He looked frantically around him, but all he could see were the thick, scarlet hangings of his four-poster bed. He covered his hot face with his cold hands and sank back into his pillows as his breathing slowly came back to normal. It was a dream, just a dream . . . a nightmare.   
  
Further Disclaimer: The angry mob's chant was ruthlessly taken from Lord of the Flies and the title was inspired by Disney's _Beauty and the Beast._


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks to everyone who left a review. Your comments really encourage me to keep going. Thanks to my betas! I don't know where I'd be without them.

Who Could Ever Love a Beast?

Chapter 2

"C'mon, Moony, what's taking so long?" Sirius complained from outside the lavatory. Sirius, James, and Peter were in the sixth year boys' dormitory waiting for Remus before they went to breakfast.

"Be out in a minute," Remus called after spitting toothpaste into the sink. After the dream last night, Remus realized with horror that he really did taste blood in his mouth, only to find that he had bitten his lip during his sub-conscious terrors. Nevertheless, this realization hadn't stopped him from giving his mouth a rigorous cleaning that morning, three of them, actually.

"Ah, he's just readying himself for Lydia, aren't you, Moony?" James called cheekily.

"Got to keep that breath minty fresh!" Sirius added.

"Ah, cut it out, mates, you're making him blush," Peter said, grinning as Remus stepped out of the loo.

"Good one, Wormtail," Sirius said with a chuckle, "A bashful werewolf! Fancy that!" Remus shot Sirius a warning glance.

"Sirius, keep your voice down!" he hissed. But Sirius merely waved his hand impatiently at him.

"Keep your trousers on, Moony; Frank's already gone down to breakfast."

"Which we should be doing, too," James said, glancing at his watch, "We don't want to be the last ones there, now, do we, mates?" The other three Marauders shared meaningful looks and smirks; they all knew the real reason James wanted to get down to breakfast early, and it wasn't because of the bacon.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Remus scanned the Hufflepuff table for a sign of Lydia. When he didn't see her, his heart began to beat uncomfortably fast.

_Oh, don't be thick,_ he thought to himself, _Just because she's not here right now doesn't mean that . . . well, doesn't mean anything's wrong. _Despite the mental scolding, Remus couldn't help but feel slightly worried. That horrible dream from the night before kept replaying in his head.

"What's the matter, Moony?" Peter asked anxiously, pulling Remus out of his reverie. He had obviously noticed that his friend was not eating. Remus silently cursed his easily readable expressions. He looked at Peter, whose smooth face was lined with worry and couldn't help but smile.

"I'm alright, Peter," he said, and when Peter still looked unconvinced, he added in a firm voice, "Really, I'm okay. I'm just a bit tired." Peter then smiled sympathetically at Remus and patted his arm before turning back toward his oatmeal. Remus sighed with relief. The excuse was plausible, as the full moon was only a few days away.

However, Sirius, who was watching Remus closely, didn't fall for the "I'm tired" line.

"Yeah, right, tired, my arse," he said with a grin, "Moony's just worried that his woman is off with some other bloke." Remus wrinkled his nose at the ridiculousness of that statement.

"Of course I'm not," he said calmly while taking a bite of scrambled eggs, "Lydia would never do such a thing." After swallowing, he looked up and was encountered with the cheesy grins of his companions. "What?" he asked defensively, "What're you three grinning at?"

"_You_, Remus," Peter said pointedly.

"Or should we say Romeo?" Sirius sniggered.

"You've got it _bad_, Moony, my friend," James said with a dramatic sigh while patting Remus's shoulder. Remus raised his eyebrows at James.

"You know, Prongs, I wouldn't talk if I were you," he said coolly, nodding his head towards a pretty redhead. Colouring slightly, James reached up and ruffled his already untidy black hair.

"I haven't the slightest idea as to what you are talking about, Monsieur Moony," James said, lifting his chin up proudly. Remus rolled his eyes at him, but said nothing. Instead, he finished his breakfast and pulled out a book that his grandfather had given to him before term started. It was a Muggle book, as his grandfather was, in fact, a Muggle.

"What's that you've got there, Moony?" Peter asked interestedly.

"_Lord of the Flies_," he answered, and upon noticing their blank stares, explained, "It's a book about a group of Muggle boys, aged six to twelve, who are stranded on a tropical island without any adults. Most of them end up turning into savages. The basic message is that humans are inherently evil and prone to savagery."

"So it's some nice, light bedtime reading, then?" Sirius commented sarcastically. Remus gave him a withering look.

"It's a very interesting read," Remus mumbled, turning back to the novel. He didn't notice the face Sirius made at him.

"Hey, Padfoot," Remus heard James address Sirius a moment later, "Look who just walked in." Remus snapped his head up so quickly that he felt his neck crick, hoping perhaps that it was Lydia. Massaging the sore spot, he looked around the Great Hall, but instead of Lydia, he saw . . .

"Snivellus." Sirius narrowed his smouldering grey eyes at the greasy Slytherin. Remus frowned at his friend.

"Sirius," he began warningly, "don't you do anything to get yourself into trouble." Sirius raised his eyebrows imperiously.

"What're you, going to put me in detention, Moony?" he asked sarcastically. James and Peter sniggered. Remus coloured slightly but looked defiantly into Sirius's eyes.

"If I have to, then I will," he stated in a voice barely above a whisper. Sirius then leaned across the table and put a sneering face about two inches from Remus's.

"I'd like to see you try," he dared. He then proceeded to stare his friend straight in the eye, like a dog battling for dominance, until Remus finally pressed his mouth into a thin line and looked back down at his book. Satisfied, Sirius stood up and brushed off the front of his robes.

"Besides, there's nothing wrong with me just _talking_ to old Snivelly, or is there a rule against that, eh, prefect?" he said in a rather nasty tone before heading over to the Slytherin table. Remus didn't answer. He simply continued to stare crossly at his book. He couldn't remember being so angry in his life. Indeed, he didn't know why this had struck such a nerve with him. He assumed it had something to do with the impending full moon. Of course, he had never really approved of the way James and Sirius tended to treat Severus Snape, but didn't he join in on nearly all of the pranks against the Slytherin?

_Yes, but only the stupid ones, not the cruel ones,_ he thought, trying to ease his guilt, _not like last year during the OWLs. _His insides squirmed at the memory. He wished that he had done something to control his friends. He wished even more that Dumbledore hadn't given him the position as prefect. Remus sighed heavily and marked the page in his book. He decided that he would go onto class alone to give himself some time to cool down before he talked to his friends again. He didn't want to risk getting into a row with them, especially one over Snape.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I hope you all like this chapter.

Who Could Ever Love a Beast?

Chapter 3

Remus grumbled with frustration as he crossed our yet another sentence of his Potions essay. It was about the history and composition of Veritiserum and was hopelessly complicated. Remus knew he would eventually figure it out, but he just couldn't concentrate. He had carefully avoided speaking with Sirius about anything other than classes, but the tension between the two was almost unbearable. So Remus decided that he would stay in the library and do homework until curfew. He sighed as he wrote what he deemed to be another meaningless sentence.

While he was working, he suddenly felt two arms wind around his neck from behind and something soft and somewhat wet press against his temple.

"What's got you in such a huff, hmm?" He shivered slightly as her breath tickled the inside of his ear. Remus leaned back and smiled up at Lydia. He caught a glimpse of the smile he loved so much before it disappeared. An expression of concern tainted her pretty face. "What's wrong, Remus?" she asked, sitting down beside him, "You're looking a bit peaky. Are you sick again?!" Remus said nothing as she fussed over him, feeling his forehead and peering into his eyes. He could feel his gut writhing with guilt. He hated lying to her, but he knew that he couldn't survive if she found out that he was a werewolf. He knew that he would lose her if she did. He remembered when they were learning about werewolves in third year, and she had passionately stated that all werewolves should be hunted down like the monsters they were. Of course, Remus knew that this was due to losing her father in a werewolf attack when she was very young, but it still made his stomach squirm with dread and shame. When he noticed her looking at him anxiously, he forced a smile on his face.

"I'm alright, Lydia," he said in his most convincing voice, "I'm just having a difficult time with this Potions." Lydia's smile brightened her features once more, but Remus could tell that she wasn't fully convinced.

"Well, I'm glad that's all it is. I wouldn't want to catch whatever you may have, now, would I?" She laughed, and Remus made himself do so, too.

"So, where were you this morning?" Remus asked in an attempt to divert the conversation from further discussion about his health, "I didn't see you at breakfast." Lydia sighed heavily.

"If you must know, I overslept," she admitted, sounding annoyed with herself, "I was up late last night doing homework and darling Hestia never bothered to wake me up. I nearly missed Charms!" She shook her head, and Remus grinned at her.

"Whatever happened to that Hufflepuff work ethic? I'm afraid you're sliding down the slippery slope of failure, my dear," he said solemnly. Lydia slapped his arm lightly, causing him to chuckle.

"Why d'you ask?"

Remus furrowed his eyebrows at her, "Ask what?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Why did you ask about my whereabouts this morning? Good Lord, Remus, and I thought you were intelligent." She grinned cheekily at him. He shot her a scathing look.

"Well, for some inexplicable reason I was worried about you. Although right now I'm wondering why I would want to deal with someone as insufferable as you that early in the morning," he answered, managing to keep a straight face the entire time. Lydia raised her eyebrows at him.

"Why? Afraid I was off snogging Amos Diggory, were you?" She placed her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, staring at Remus with a mischievous sparkle in her blue-gray eyes. Remus calmly rustled his parchment as though he were doing something important.

"Of course I wasn't," he said confidently.

"Oh really?" she challenged, "What makes you so sure I wasn't?"

It took Remus a long time to answer. He carefully stacked his parchment papers and set his quills in an orderly line. After he corked his inkbottle, he turned his chair around so that he directly faced Lydia. In a voice deadly serious he said, "Because, Lydia, I know that after snogging me, you would never have the desire to even fantasize about kissing anyone or anything else ever again." This statement was followed by a very extended period in which neither of them spoke. Then Remus snorted, mouth twitching, thus resulting in the two of them bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Remus John Lupin, you conceited prat!" Lydia laughed before throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his. Remus's eyebrows flew up in pleasant surprise and he sighed contentedly through the kiss. He hugged her around the middle and pulled her closer to him. Just as Lydia deepened the kiss, a screeching sound startled them into jumping apart.

"No! No! No!" shrieked Madam Pince, "Not that in the library! Out! GET OUT!" Trying to suppress their mirth, the couple grabbed their belongings and sprinted from the library and the wrath of the librarian.

"I hope you don't get into trouble for that," Lydia said sheepishly, "being a prefect and all." Remus merely shook his head and chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, Lydia. May I walk you to your dormitory?" He offered her his arm. She beamed at him and took it.

"Why, thank you, kind sir, as I'm sure the Hogwarts corridors are dangerous at this time of night for a helpless female like me." Remus nodded gravely.

"Yes, eight-thirty is much too late to be out," he agreed, "However, I would hardly call you helpless."

"Wouldn't you?"

"I have seen your Reductor curse, Lydia, and feel quite justified in being very, very afraid of you."

Lydia clucked her tongue at him, "My, my, whatever happened to that Gryffindor bravery?"

Remus chortled, "Touché!" They stopped in front of a statue of a witch stroking a badger. "So, will I see you tomorrow or will you be sleeping in again?" Remus asked.

"You will definitely see me tomorrow . . .probably," she smirked at him, and he smiled back.

"I hope so," he said softly, "because I'll be awfully lonesome if I don't." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers in the gentlest of kisses.

"Good night," Lydia whispered, touching his face, "And feel better. I don't care what you said earlier; I know you aren't well. Take care of yourself."

Remus sighed and gave her a small smile, "I will, I promise," he said.

"Good." She then kissed him on the side of his mouth and turned to give the statue the password.

When she had gone, Remus continued on to the Gryffindor common room, feeling oddly light and buoyant.


End file.
